Page 68 of Completely Captivated
Damn it.
Delilah had better be right about this.
Back in my condo, I took a quick shower and gathered my equipment to spend my Sunday hiking in the park, far away from the city and cell towers.
And temptation.
Spending so much time with Delilah wasn’t without benefits.She shared her wealth of knowledge and insight freely.Sometimes too much so, since she didn’t hold back what she thought.Ever.
My assigned task for the day was to come up with the next step in my plan to get Christa back in case my absence didn’t work in my favor.Delilah kept telling me not to view this in singular acts, but in the grand scheme.Stepping stones that led to the ultimate prize.
After a couple of hours of meandering through along the trails, I found the perfect spot and set up my tripod and camera.Since I’d left Rivers Forte, I’d taken time to pursue my passion—photography.My eclectic mix of urban grunge and natural beauty had caught the attention of a magazine editor I knew.I wasn’t doing it for the money.As conceited as it sounded, I had more than enough of that.
My little hobby had become therapeutic.I looked for beauty in everything now, and I found it.Then I captured that beauty in my own way.The pictures reminded me not to be so hard on myself about my past mistakes.I was still a work in progress, and that was okay.
I spent the day leisurely strolling and snapping pictures, always with Christa on my mind, but still at peace alone.Dusk settled in by the time I returned to my car and stowed my equipment bag in the trunk.Once I reached a more populated area, I reluctantly powered on my phone to check for any messages from Christa.
I couldn’t help but feel disappointed when I realized she hadn’t tried to contact me all day.
Christa
Dear God, it had been a long day, and I didn’t want a repeat of it ever.
First, I stepped out of the shower with every intention of having a long, sit-down talk with Aaron.But he was gone.A delicious plate of my favorite breakfast foods and a piping hot cup of coffee were the only evidence he’d even been there this morning.
As much as I wanted to talk to him about everything, I took his absence as a sign it wasn’t time to have that conversation.
But no matter what the universe tried to tell me along the way, there was one conversation that couldn’t wait one more minute.I quickly scarfed down my food and jetted over to Jared’s place.
It was still early, and no doubt he’d be hungover from his binge the night before.But I didn’t care.Headache or not.Crouched over the great porcelain throne or not.Apologetic or not.He was in for a giant piece of my mind.
I repeatedly banged on his door with my fist and even kicked it a few times.When it swung open, I was ready to tear into him with my angry tirade, my finger already pointing in the general vicinity of his face.Instead of seeing Jared’s face, I stared into the wide-eyed, bewildered face of a redhead who’d obviously just stumbled out of bed.
Her hair was a bird’s nest of tangles.She wore Jared’s shirt inside out.Even with my small stature, I must have looked somewhat intimidating because she instinctively took a step backward and glanced around the room nervously.
“Jared!”I screamed and stormed past her.“Get your ass out here.”
“Listen, I’m sorry if you’re his wife or whatever.He said he wasn’t married.”His overnight guest pulled at the T-shirt she wore, trying to cover herself more.
“I’m not, and he’s not.”I kept walking through his condo, yelling his name.
“Fuck, Christa.Can you lower your voice?I think the neighbors five floors up can hear you.”Jared finally emerged from his bedroom, trying to tame his hair with his fingers.
“I don’t give a fuck if the neighbors at the end of the block hear me.”I crossed my arms over my chest and stared him down.
“Umm, excuse me.I’ll just throw my clothes on and leave you two to talk.”The third wheel crept past us, and Jared’s expression became instantly guilt-ridden.
“Let’s go into the living room and talk, Christa.”Jared extended one hand toward the area behind me, where I’d just come in.When I turned to walk ahead of him, he put his hand on my lower back.
I jumped to the side and turned toward him at the same time.“Don’t.Touch.Me.”
He held his hands up in mock surrender, and at least he had the decency to appear duly chastened.When we reached the living room, I sat in the chair, and he took the couch.I didn’t want any chance of him sitting close to me after last night.
“I had our entire conversation planned out before I came over here, and it started with you explaining yourself for last night.But now, I’ve changed my mind.There’s nothing you can say or do to explain away what you did.”
“What did I do?”He appeared genuinely confused and concerned.“What are you talking about?”
“Look, I’ve already had one man play the amnesia card on me.I’m not falling for that bit from you.”
